Notice I used "blatant corporatism."
I have no problem with the RB ownership, as a matter of fact I prefer them over most ownership groups in MLS. My only objection is having named the team after the corporation.
RB only got a pass because they named the team NY Red Bulls which is one of the standards of naming sports teams in the US using animals and is not as tasteless ass NY Pepsi would have been for example.
My opinion is that for the NY franchise to achieve success in the stands it'd have to attract the much reviled Eurosnob crowd, which embraced TFC, and it seems like they're doing everything to turn that crowd off starting with the name.
Good, interesting and intelligent back and forth. This is what makes the boards fun sometimes.
First on the TFC thing. Throw TFC and Seattle (and Philly) out in my opinion. They are expansion and were dying for a team. Very different then being there from the beginning. But if you follow closely, TFC supporters are already turning on their team. It's only taking 3 years of crappy play but it's happening. They staged a mid game walk out last year and they're crying up a storm up there. They've got a new stadium to boot.
As for the Eurosnobs in NY/NJ, I think you have a valid point. I personally think there's 1 thing, and 1 thing only that will bring them out. Quality soccer with top notch players. With Satellite, internet, etc. you can really watch any game in the world right now. I think a lot of folks would rather watch Liverpool, Benfica, Santos, etc. on their TV in the comfort of their home, rather than trecking out to see what they consider to be a FARLY inferior product. They're not looking to see a midfield battle of Seth Stammler v. Stevan Migliorazi. Bringing in a Henry, etc. catches their attention for a minute, but it takes more quality players to eventually keep them.
Shoot, I was at Cosmos games as a kid too. They had the fad fans and the die hards (Eurosnobs). They also had quality in addition to Pele, and they weren't getting these guys at 35 years old either. Franz Beckenbaur, Carlos Alberto, Georgio Chinalia, etc. There was quality on the field more than 1 star....and there was also not many other outlets to watch games. It was like Italian League on Sunday mornings on channel 13 in fuzzy black and white with Italian announcers.....literally.